Planning for the Future of Rural Development

BY DAVID GONZALEZ JR. | DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC INITIATIVES

Rural economy and agriculture are large parts of our community make up and a key focus area of the York County Economic Action Plan. Municipalities like Hellam Township are working to lead the way for the future of rural development by creating plans that are mutually beneficial for the economy and the quality of life of its residents.

Hellam Township is a microcosm of York County featuring rural land, while hosting major arteries such as Route 30 and Route 462. The township’s location has attracted commercial, industrial, and housing development, which has caused township leaders to be more strategic with planning to maintain the community’s rural landscape.

Hellam features some of the best class of soil in the country, which not only generates economic benefits but supports and stabilizes the local food supply chain.

- Nedette Otterbein, Hellam Township Board of Supervisors

Nedette Otterbein, elected to Hellam Township’s Board of Supervisors in 2021, is a believer in strategic planning for her community’s future. She sees Hellam as a place that “feeds the soul and body, through our recreational assets and our farms who provide food.”

Supervisor Otterbein and her colleagues are working with counterparts in Wrightsville and Hallam Boroughs on a unified regional comprehensive plan. “Hellam features some of the best class of soil in the country, which not only generates economic benefits but supports and stabilizes the local food supply chain.” The regional comprehensive plan will help ensure unified planning for asset coordination and guide development that meet the needs of residents and visitors.

“Residents can live the life they want to live in Hellam Township” said Supervisor Otterbein. The community hosts recreational and agrotourism assets, many of which are featured in this publication. Supervisor Otterbein wants to communicate the economic opportunity that exist in Hellam and protect the land that has provided for previous generations so it may continue to do so for the future.

Hellam Township recently approved the rezoning of a parcel from residential to agricultural. An action that is not a norm in development. From thinking regionally to imploring the thought of farmland as a key part of the tax base, Supervisor Otterbein is hopeful that the plan she and her colleagues are drafting will set a bright future for the township. “A lot of what we are doing has no template, so we need to be forward thinking in our ordinances or polices and open to ideas. From there, we need to strategize on what is best for our residents of today and tomorrow.”

Hellam Township | 35 Walnut Springs Rd., York, PA 17406 | hellamtownship.com